Convalescence
by UnknownQuantity
Summary: The final short story of my Mass Effect 1 series, set after the battle with Saren. They are intended to expand upon the Liara/Female Shepard romance and add to it whilst not being plot-intrusive, hence an addition rather than a story change.


Preamble: This short story is a fanfic based around the relationship you have with Liara in Mass Effect 1. This one is set shortly after the fight against Saren concludes right at the end of the game. It carries on the story from what happened to this point in game as well as the events detailed in my previous short fanfics, Captivated, Patience, Sorrow and Decisions; which I recommend you read before reading this. However they're not absolutely required and each short story should be suitable for reading by itself.

This is the last of the Mass Effect 1 stories. However I intend to carry this on (as best as possible) throughout all three games, so if you like what I've done so far expect more in the future. However given that this is the end of the first stage I feel I ought to say a few extra words. I'd like to thank moreeman06 and Luxure over at the BioWare Social Network for acting as my test audience and editors. I'd like to thank everyone in the Liara fan thread for various little bits of inspiration I gathered when reading through. And finally I'd like to thank everyone reading my work, especially those who leave feedback. Believe me when I say I read every bit of it and am hugely grateful for your support. I really, really appreciate all feedback and I hope you consider leaving a comment.

Finally, fair warning to everyone: this gets quite a bit more erotic than anything I've written previously. Don't say I didn't mention that; although I HOPE everyone finds it "tasteful" rather than "lewd".

Anyway, as ever these fanfics are intended to act as additions to the story as a way of further adding to the romance between Shepard and Liara but not to change its basis in any way. If you spot a major inconsistency with the rest of the story then feel free to point it out and I'll do some revisions. Enjoy!

**Convalescence**

There was a whirring sound and a few clicks as the medical scanner passed over Naomi. She sat up as soon as it was finished, limbs a little stiff in her badly damaged armour.

"So what's the verdict, doc?" she asked the salarian at the controls.

"Hmm…no major injuries, surprisingly. Bruised and somewhat cut up but nothing major. Just a few minor things and you'll be as good as new."

"Fine, then I'm leaving," and turned to move away.

"But Commander, I should really treat the injuries that…"

She stopped and turned back. "Are you going to do anything other than clean the medi-gel off them, wash them and then slap more medi-gel back on?"

"Well, no."

"Will they kill me if they're not dealt with immediately?"

"No, but they're going to be some pretty painful wounds when the adrenaline wears off, Commander."

"There are plenty of other people with worse injuries than me, doctor. Go and see to them rather than wasting your time here. I'm perfectly capable of dealing with a few cuts and bruises," she said in a forceful voice that brooked no argument.

"Yes, Commander," he replied meekly and hurried away to treat the next batch of casualties.

It was only a couple of hours after the destruction of Sovereign but the battle was over. Without Sovereign the geth fleet had been hopelessly outmatched by the remnants of the Citadel defence fleet as well as the Alliance reinforcements. The Citadel had immediately been placed under emergency conditions, the geth had been cleared and buildings in unaffected areas had been appropriated by the Council for use as makeshift medical centres and barracks to allow the troops and rescue personnel to rest and recover. At that very moment rescue teams were making their way through damaged areas and a major effort had begun to try and recover survivors from the ships destroyed and damaged in the battle.

Naomi looked around. This was a particularly nice hotel on the Presidium and the Normandy had been assigned two of the floors, with a temporary medical facility set up in the restaurant. Her gaze passed across various members of her crew, a few caught her eye and either nodded or saluted in her direction. She felt no urge to go and speak to any of them, they already knew how proud of them all she was; they didn't need telling. She saw Tali having her suit carefully checked over inch by inch, Garrus being fussed over by an asari nurse and clearly loving the attention, Wrex was…

"Wrex, put the doctor down," she called over. He was holding a terrified salarian in the air with one hand.

"He tried to take my shotgun from me," the krogan battlemaster growled angrily.

"Only so we could scan you for injuries," protested the poor medic.

"Yeah, that's what they all say. Do I look injured to you?"

"Wrex," replied Naomi, exasperated. "I've been scanned. Better to just make sure nothing gets missed. Put the gun to one side and nobody will touch it."

"Fine," he replied with a growl. He placed his weapon on a table and glared at the salarian. "If it's moved an inch your face will be dealing with a complaint from my head." Then he dropped the doctor, who staggered slightly.

Naomi shook her head and, with a rueful grin at the salarian, made her way to the door leading to the foyer. She'd been assigned a large personal suite on the first floor, there were certain benefits to being the hero of the hour, and she had arranged for a basic medical kit to be sent up there before troubling the doctors for a scan.

Despite being relatively unharmed Naomi was mentally exhausted and hurting a lot; if not for the adrenaline high she'd have been physically tired too. She needed time to clean up, treat her wounds and rest. After crawling out from the pile of rubble that was all that was left of the Council chambers following her fight against Saren she and her team hadn't taken a moment to rest but had immediately joined the battle to finish off the geth on the Citadel. It had been difficult but they hadn't stopped until the station was secure, determined not to leave the job half-done. Too tired to even think, her mind blank, she simply trudged her way up the stairs and into her room, shutting the door behind her.

"Naomi." Liara stood up from where she had been sitting on the edge of the bed having removed her armour already and just wearing the bodysuit underlay. Naomi didn't reply, she just walked over and they embraced, lips meeting a moment later and tongues intertwining hungrily.

Eventually Naomi broke away. "Liara, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. Completely unharmed." She looked down shyly. "I think I have you to thank for that. You shouldn't have taken those kinds of risks; I saw how you were making yourself a target."

Naomi smiled and brought a hand up to stroke Liara's cheek. "A few scratches are worth it if it means nothing hurts my blue beauty."

Liara looked up again, this time with concern on her face. "And you ARE hurt. Don't deny it, I can see it."

"Just a few minor cuts and bruises…" began Naomi and stopped when she saw Liara frowning at her. Wordlessly she started to pull at the buckles and remove Naomi's armour. After Naomi had been stripped down to her bodysuit Liara stepped back, examining the handful of tears in the material and the patches of congealed blood and medi-gel which signified the larger wounds.

"Oh Naomi, these injuries…"

"I spoke to the doctors, they said it was nothing serious and I told them not to waste their time on me," Naomi interrupted, defensively.

"You should have let them treat these!" Burst out Liara in a voice tinged with worry.

"They sting a bit, that's all. They've got more important things to deal with than some superficial injuries like these. I'll deal with them myself."

"No, you won't," replied Liara, sternly. "I'm going help you with them. Where do we start?"

"Well, they need cleaning. It's ok, really. I can manage."

Liara's voice softened and she moved close, placing her hands on Naomi's chest. "Naomi, please…let me help. Some of these are my fault; I want to make up for them. They need cleaning? A shower…?"

Naomi hesitated, then nodded and Liara started to remove Naomi's bodysuit, pulling it down whilst carefully avoiding the wounds as best she could, although the process still drew a few winces and sharp intakes of breath. Liara finally tugged the tight one-piece underlay off Naomi entirely and stood, her eyes taking in the wounds which stood out against the pale skin of Naomi's naked body. Liara was clearly upset at seeing the Spectre in such obvious pain but Naomi just smiled comfortingly and gently started to tug on Liara's bodysuit.

In response Liara stepped back and quickly stripped it off, tossing it carelessly into the corner. Naomi slowly looked her up and down and in response Liara's blue cheeks tinged darkly at the scrutiny before she was drawn into Naomi's arms.

"That blush, still so cute," Naomi whispered before licking her cheek, causing it's colour to deepen even further. Then she took the asari's hand and led the way to the bathroom. As Naomi started the shower running, Liara opened the medical kit and took out a small device necessary to remove the medi-gel before she was pulled into the cubicle.

For a moment the two of them just stood there, pressed against each other with the rivulets of steaming water streaming down their bodies. Naomi put an arm protectively around Liara, revelling in her closeness and warmth.

After a few moments Liara stepped back slightly and picked up a sponge. With care she set about cleaning Naomi's wounds; first loosening the medi-gel with ultrasound then wiping the blood and gel away. Naomi closed her eyes, almost drifting into a trance-like state as she felt the stress and tension draining away as her whole body relaxed to the joint efforts of the hot caress of the shower washing over her and Liara's delicate attention.

It took her a little while to realise that Liara had finished clearing off the medi-gel, put the ultrasound device down and had started gently cleaning the sweat and dirt away from the rest of her body, starting at her legs. For her part Naomi just stared down at Liara, watching the water trickle across that soft blue skin and wondering what she had done to deserve such love and devotion.

Slowly Liara made her way up, the fingers of one hand and the sponge in the other tenderly stroking across almost every inch of Naomi's body on the way, leaving trails of soap suds which were quickly chased away by the running water. When they were stood facing one another again Naomi took the sponge and started to brush it across Liara's skin without looking away from those amazing sapphire eyes as her other hand reached up to rub the asari's head crests. As she reached Liara's stomach she felt her wrist grabbed and the sponge taken from her. The hand was pulled down and brought to rest on the inside of Liara's thigh before it was released and Liara gave an inviting smile.

Naomi needed no additional encouragement and, stepping even closer, she watched as Liara's eyes closed and breathing became laboured at the pleasure of Naomi's fingers softly sliding into her. After a short while Naomi gasped in surprise as Liara unexpectedly responded in kind. She closed her eyes as well; the feel of Liara's gentle probing overpowering everything else. She had barely registered the hand placed on her head or the whispered "embrace eternity" when suddenly it felt as if the whole universe had opened up in front of her.

She could feel the waves of emotion powering through the mental link. A whirl of joy, contentment and love washing over her and feeding back from her into her partner in a constantly self-reinforcing loop. She could simultaneously feel the sensations being experienced by both her and her lover as their minds flowed over and through one another. The sensations increased in intensity, reaching a level simply not possible through mere physical contact as the two of them were briefly one mind, one body, one soul. As the feelings through the mental link reached a fever pitch there was an abrupt feeling as if a dam had broken and pure pleasure washed over them both, their bodies shivering slightly as they felt the waves of it pass through them.

Both of them opened their eyes simultaneously, breathing deeply and smiling at each other. Naomi stroked Liara's head for a moment longer before drawing her into a kiss.

A few minutes later Liara was patting Naomi dry and when she finished she threw the towel to one side before gesturing to the bed.

"Now lie down and I'll make sure those wounds are properly treated," said Liara, going to retrieve the medical kit. Upon returning she pulled a tube of medi-gel out and started to carefully apply it to the injures marking Naomi's body. The gel sealed by itself, but to prevent it from oozing from some of the larger cuts she carefully strapped some dressings over them as well. Naomi winced as a particularly vicious stab of pain shot through her nerves and Liara immediately stopped, concern etched into her features.

"I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

Naomi smiled reassuringly. "It's fine, really. Some wounds are deeper than others and are bound to hurt for a while. I've had worse."

Liara finished securing the last pad before putting her own towel to one side and picking up her bodysuit. "You need to rest. I should go and let you have some peace and quiet," she said, clearly reluctant to leave and looking for the slightest excuse not to.

Naomi was happy to oblige. "Don't…you being here is comforting. I'll rest better if you stay." She patted the bed with a smile and Liara immediately dropped the bodysuit and lay down facing her. They lay like that for a while looking at each other in peace. Eventually Naomi idly brought her hand up and started softly tapping along Liara's cheek.

Liara giggled. "You're supposed to be resting…what ARE you doing?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

"I'm counting your freckles," Naomi replied, matter of factly.

"My what? Freckles?"

"Those facial markings."

Liara blushed slightly. "Why?"

Naomi stopped, grinned and shrugged slightly before laying still again. "Just because." Liara shook her head, amused.

"I fear I may never properly understand humans."

Naomi laughed. "That's ok, I'm not sure I understand us either." And with that she pulled Liara close and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

Shepard ran through a hail of bullets, and dived behind the cover of a rock. Blood was freely flowing from a wound to her head and her armour was badly smashed up, pain was all over. She looked around but was surrounded by darkness; however she could make out patches of deeper darkness ahead of her, shooting. Returning fire with her handgun and a blast of biotic energy she called out.

"Liara? Garrus?"

There was no reply. Perhaps some of the others were nearby?

"Wrex? Tali? Ash?"

She didn't know where she was, just another planet. After a while the names of the battlegrounds become meaningless, it was just fight after fight; the setting didn't matter. The ground was dark grey rock, strewn with boulders. The sky was nondescript and provided precious little light. She remembered arriving in the Mako but couldn't see it anywhere; then again she couldn't see much in any direction it was so dark. She tried a few more shots at the looming shadows and reached for her com.

"Joker, what the hell is going on?" No response.

She rushed forward to another boulder and ducked behind it as shots peppered off the other side. It was important she kept going forward. She wasn't sure why, it was just instinct. For a little while she simply traded shots with her unseen assailants with no idea if it was having any effect. Then she steeled herself and ran forward again as fast as she could.

She hit the next boulder hard and Kaidan and Ashley slammed into it on either side of her. "Bit rough isn't it Commander?" he inquired, coolly.

"Yeah, Lieutenant. Good to see you, these bastards are giving me…" She hesitated; convinced she was missing something important. Why did Kaidan's presence feel so wrong? She shook her head to clear it as Kaidan broke in again.

"Anyway, we need to break up, see if we can't get around their sides. Ash, you left and me right, ok?"

"Got it, L. T."

The two of them ran to other cover on either side.

Commander Shepard hesitated, uncertain of which to go with. Which wasn't helped when each of them turned and gestured for her to go to the other. After a moment she made her decision: although Kaidan was taking more fire, Ashley was in the better position to fight back against their shadowy opponents. Their best chance was to support that attack. She ran in her direction.

As Shepard slid into cover again she glanced over at Kaidan. With a surge of horror she saw a shadow rear up behind him and before she could even shout a warning it had enveloped him before melting away. And with that he was gone.

"Bastards!" she shouted. "Let's get them, Ash." There was no reply. "Ash?" Shepard turned to look at Ashley who just stared back in a mixture of grief and disgust. Without a word Ashley stood up, the shots somehow missing her, and she walked off around the boulder towards their assailants.

"Chief what the hell are you doing?" Shepard tried to stand herself to follow but the fire increased and she just caught a glimpse of her remaining team member walking away before she had to duck out of the fury of the attack.

Suddenly everything stopped. she risked a look over her cover. No more shots came her way and the shadows had vanished. There was silence.

Shepard slowly stood and the area seemed to have brightened as she could see a little farther. With no idea which way to go she kept moving forward cautiously, weapon still at the ready. Then she spotted the first body.

"Ash!" She hurried over, checking in all directions for enemies, but before reaching Ashley's limp body she spotted others. Tali, Wrex and Garrus. Running past them, now heedless of the danger, she looked for her final team member with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

A short way off, a blue light appeared. She headed towards it, certain in the knowledge it was Liara, and felt a flood of relief at spotting her still alive which was immediately overwhelmed by an inexplicable feeling of dread. Liara turned to face her. The asari's features angelic in the calm blue light that seemed to emanate from nowhere and everywhere, making her blue skin look almost radiant.

"Liara!"

She didn't reply, Shepard sped up.

"Liara, come here, it's not safe!"

Liara smiled at her sadly. "Naomi…"

A beam of violent red light streaked down from the heavens and engulfed Liara. Shepard kept running. But she was too far away and Liara disintegrated before her eyes, melting away to nothing but a blackened patch of ground.

* * *

Naomi screamed in fury and horror and sat up sharply in bed; waves of biotic energy flaring along her body in sympathy and sweat pouring from her, breath coming in gasps. Liara woke with a start at the sound and movement.

"Naomi…by the goddess. What happened?" asked Liara with a mixture of alarm, fear and concern; sitting up herself.

Naomi turned to the sound of the voice, wild-eyed and wordlessly grabbed Liara, pulling her into a tight embrace. Liara wrapped her own arms around Naomi in turn whilst whispering soothing nothings into her ear. After a few minutes Naomi's terror gradually turned into sobs until she was freely weeping.

Liara didn't know what to do. She had seen Naomi upset before, and angry, but never so clearly afraid. The Spectre had always seemed fearless, utterly unmoved by anything she faced no matter how horrific. And yet now she was like a frightened little girl.

"Please, you have to tell me what's wrong," pleaded Liara. Eventually Naomi calmed down enough to retell her nightmare in a very small and scared voice, still clinging on tight.

Liara patiently listened, taking all of it in. After the story finished they just sat there for a while, holding on to each other. Eventually she spoke quietly.

"You've been bottling all of this up for far too long and you're far too hard on yourself. You care about the people who fight for you."

She turned Naomi's head so she could look directly into her eyes.

"Naomi…that's not a bad thing. But it's not always your fault and you can't be expected to always do everything on your own. You need other people as well. You…" Liara was briefly lost for words. She knew that there was something important she wanted to say but the words just wouldn't come. She changed tack.

"Those things didn't happen, Naomi. And they didn't happen because you stopped them from happening. I'm still here and so are the others. Kaidan is gone, but if it hadn't been him then it would have been Ashley and we might have been unable to stop Saren's Krogan army. Everything worked out as best as could be expected. You couldn't have done any more than you did, that's what matters. You need to let go of this. They're just nightmares."

Naomi relaxed, nodded and settled to go back to sleep, taking the calming words at face value, but Liara stayed sat up for a while, thinking. Just what was she trying to say to Naomi that she couldn't put into words? She was troubled, Naomi had calmed down this time but Liara felt she could do more if she could just work out exactly what the problem was. In the end she just lay down again in frustration, but it took a long time for her to fall back asleep.

* * *

Naomi strode along a corridor, irritated. It was a few days after her nightmare and she had spent most of the intervening time doing whatever she could to help with the recovery work. Her crew was ok and the Citadel was slowly being restored. But now she was going to have to face the thing she had been dreading the most…the formal victory celebration. It was a nuisance, but Udina had been quite insistent about the whole thing: she had to be there to represent humanity amongst the various dignitaries and ambassadors expected to attend. Not to mention the three members of the Council she had saved at such cost.

She walked in through the doors into the hall. The noise was incredible from the number of people all speaking at once not to mention the music being played. Several people noticed her enter and broke off their conversations to come over and shake her hand or offer congratulations or thanks. Eventually she shook them all off and made her way over to where Liara was speaking to Anderson.

"The fame a bit much for you, Shepard?" asked Anderson, smiling.

"You could say that, sir. I wasn't the only one involved in the fight after all."

"If you want my advice then you'll take whatever acknowledgement you can get. God knows you didn't get enough credit for finding out about Saren and Sovereign in the first place."

"I appreciate that. But I don't want to take away from anyone else."

Anderson shook his head. "You won't be. Believe me, medals all round after this one, the Council is delighted. Probably make you their poster girl as well."

Naomi scowled at that. "If they want to show some appreciation they can damn well apologise and then leave me to get on with my job. Considering the attitude they gave me along with bloody Udina…"

He gave a short, harsh laugh. "You know that's not how it works, Shepard. Now that you're the big hero suddenly each of them were privately all right behind you all along, or so they tell people. Did you really expect anything different?"

She sighed in response. "Not really. Politicians being what they are I'm surprised they're not claiming stealing the Normandy and running off to Ilos was their idea." She paused. "I never thanked you for that properly, Captain."

Anderson just waved his hand at that. "Think nothing of it. I was just glad to help, besides…" He grinned. "…getting to punch Udina more than made up for it."

Naomi burst out laughing. "I envy you, Anderson. Wish I could have been there. I doubt I'm ever going to get the opportunity to have a go myself."

He clapped his hand on her shoulder. "Ah, come on Shepard. Cheer up. I'm sure you'll get a chance one day. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go and speak to some very tedious people. I hear they're thinking of allowing humanity onto the Council itself, so I ought to try and help make a good impression." They shook hands and Anderson left the two of them alone.

"Hello Shepard, you look very impressive," said Liara, gesturing to the formal uniform that Naomi was wearing.

"You don't look so bad yourself," replied Naomi, eyeing Liara's knee-length red dress.

"Thank you." They stood there uncomfortably for a moment just staring at one another.

Naomi cleared her throat. "So…ah...drink, Doctor?"

As she started to lead the way to the bar, Liara fell into step and leaned over to speak quietly. "This is difficult, Naomi. I know we decided to keep 'us' quiet for now but…"

"I know, I know. At the moment it's just some of the Normandy crew who know, or think they do. But even so..."

"Just being here seeing you looking so beautiful, it's incredibly hard to resist. And having to be so formal, I just want to put my arms around you."

"Later. I promise."

A few paces later they bumped into Hackett.

"Ah, Commander. Glad to see you," he said genially. Naomi saluted, stepped forward and then shook the proffered hand.

"Admiral. It's a pleasure."

"All mine, Commander. Believe me; you turned out good. No regrets over that decision to support you for Spectre in light of all this. And I assume this is…"

"Of course, I'm sorry." Naomi turned slightly and took Liara's hand to pull her forward for introductions. "Admiral Steven Hackett this is Doctor Liara T'Soni. Liara, this is Admiral Hackett, commanding officer of the Alliance Fifth fleet."

Liara bowed her head respectfully. "Nice to meet you, sir."

Naomi continued "Liara and I have been working very closely together throughout this and I don't think we could have done it without her. She's been very…" An image of Liara's naked body suddenly flashed through Naomi's mind for a fraction of a second. "…blue…HELPFUL. She's been very helpful."

"Your efforts are greatly appreciated, Doctor. We all know that without you, Shepard and everyone else on the Normandy we wouldn't have had a chance," replied Hackett politely. "Please enjoy yourselves." And he walked off.

They managed a few steps before Liara broke out into a devilish grin.

"That was YOU wasn't it?" whispered Naomi. Liara's smile just got bigger. "I thought I was going to die from embarrassment for a moment there. I nearly...just…behave yourself. What's got into you tonight? When did you become such a tease?"

Liara's voice took on an innocent tone. "It's entirely your fault. You're a bad influence on me."

"Honestly, ever since we beat Saren…you…look, be good or I'll have to do something about you."

"Oh?" asked Liara, curiosity in her eyes. "And what would that be, then?"

"How about you read my mind and see?"

Liara's eyes flashed black as she melded for just a moment before they went wide and she blushed a very deep blue. She tried to speak but was nervous stammering. "Naomi…I…well, I never thought…er…how would…" She stopped talking in embarrassment, but her face broke out into a shy smile.

Naomi watched all of this with her own grin before giving in to the laughter welling up inside her and after a moment Liara joined in.

They reached the bar still laughing. Garrus was already there sitting to one side.

"You two seem to have changed your minds given how you appear to be broadcasting that you're together to everyone in the room," he observed quietly as they came over, an amused tone in his voice.

"But we haven't told anyone," protested Liara.

"You might not have SAID anything but you're still letting everyone know. Anyone who cares to look and sees more than just 'the heroes of the hour' anyway which, fortunately for you I think, is a fairly small number."

Naomi tilted her head to one side. "Go on then, mister master detective. Tell us how we're giving ourselves away."

Garrus stretched and looked at them. "Three clear signs. The first is that you've been going around together."

"Oh come on, people go around with friends all the time."

He shrugged. "True, but that's only one factor. The second is that you're both whispering to each other and giggling like a pair of schoolgirls."

"Really Garrus…we've all been through so much together. You really think that us joking with each other would be seen as out of the ordinary? You'll have to do better than that."

"You're right. However the third is the most important."

"I can hardly stand the suspense," commented Naomi in a voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm. Liara giggled at that but Garrus simply leaned over to whisper to them.

"You're still holding hands."

With a start Naomi looked down and realised he was right. Since she had taken Liara's hand to bring her forward to introduce to Hackett they hadn't let go of each other. Each of them released the other as if stung and Garrus erupted with laughter before continuing on quietly again.

"You two aren't very good at this kind of deception are you? You might be able to sneak up on a man and snap his neck, Shepard; but I can't see you being able to keep up this deception all evening by yourself. No matter, your best friend here will help if you will take his advice. For a start, going around together is a dead giveaway and you've got to go and speak to people, it's expected of the great Spectre hero. Mingle with the crowds and I'll keep Liara here for when you get back. Then it won't look as suspicious the three of us together. Liara you just stay here with me for now and help me out."

"Help with what?" Naomi inquired. "What are you going to do?"

Garrus looked directly at Shepard with a grave expression. "I'm going to carry out the most important part of the plan. I'm going to get thoroughly drunk and claim to everyone that me and you are together. I'll say you fell for my stunning good looks and roguish charm."

"Garrus!"

"Fine, fine. I'll say I fell for YOUR stunning good looks and roguish charm. Happy?"

Liara burst out laughing and Naomi was clearly torn between irritation and amusement.

"Garrus look…" Naomi said, but couldn't find the words to continue. So she just shook her head and disappeared into the crowds.

Liara watched her walk away whilst Garrus stared resolutely into his glass with a smile.

"You really care about her don't you?" he asked after a few minutes.

Liara nodded. "More than I would have believed possible."

"I'm happy for you, for both of you. She's a remarkable person and you deserve each other."

She smiled and turned to him. "Thank you Garrus. And not just for that, we've all been through a lot together and you've always been right there for us."

"If you or Shepard ever need anything from me, you only have to ask. Garrus Vakarian has always got his friends' back. Whatever it's for."

At that Liara hugged him. "What are you going to do now?" she asked after breaking away.

"I don't know yet," he admitted with a shrug. "I'll probably stick with Shepard for a little while longer at least. I owe her that. I guess I don't even have to ask whether you'll be sticking with her."

Liara just flashed a smile and they both looked off over to where Naomi was talking to a few salarians.

"It must be hard for her," he remarked.

"What?"

He looked at Liara, surprised, before turning back to look at Naomi and gesturing at her. "Always having to be a leader. Always taking charge. Sometimes people have to sit back and relax and let someone else take over for a while. Otherwise you just drain yourself dry having to control everything and lead the way all the time. But Shepard doesn't do that, hasn't been able to do that. She has had to be there right at the front all the way. It could drive a person mad doing that, I worry about her honestly. She ought to let go of everything occasionally."

Liara just looked on throughout all of this, her eyes suddenly widening as if having a revelation. Garrus gave her a sidelong glance. "Everything ok, Liara?"

"Yes I…nothing. Sorry, I was just thinking of something."

Garrus nodded and paused before continuing. "Then again I'm sure you know exactly how to cheer her up and relax her."

"Garrus!" Liara exclaimed with a slightly shocked look. Her cheeks darkening again in embarrassment.

"What?" he asked innocently. "Whats wrong with buying her a gift she likes?"

"Oh."

"Or maybe buying yourself a gift and letting her take it off you…"

There was a moment of quiet and then they both broke down into a fit of laughter. "Stop teasing me," said Liara after she'd managed to get her breath back.

"I'm sorry. Couldn't help myself. But seriously, she's been through a lot. I'm glad you're there for her."

"I am too…"

A while later Naomi came back looking distinctly grouchy and slightly dishevelled. "Honestly you'd think half of these people had never seen a human before."

"So has the brave Commander Shepard finally met her match in the politicians?" asked Garrus sardonically.

"I'll tell you what, Garrus. I'd much rather go another round with Saren than remain here much longer."

"Well I can't say I disagree…the Turian brandy they have here is pretty poor. I've got much better back on the Normandy. Why don't we all go back?"

The three of them started for the door before Garrus added "…after all I've got a hot date waiting for me."

Naomi hesitated in surprise. "Really? First you've mentioned that."

"Oh yeah. A very special someone. I'm thinking a few candles for that romantic atmosphere, maybe a little incense, her laid out there on a sheet. And then a few hours of just me, her and a weapons maintenance kit. Clean out the barrel…oil the firing mechanism…"

Garrus winked and both Liara and Naomi started laughing.

"Hey, don't you go laughing at my true love," Garrus protested, pretending to be hurt. "She's had a hard time lately and deserves looking after!"

* * *

The trio eventually made their way back to the Normandy dock and passed by the guards on duty without a word. Nobody else was aboard, everyone had accommodation on the Citadel and most of them were at the party still. They stopped just inside the ship.

"Actually now I'm here I'm not sure I'm ready to call it a night just yet," said Garrus, looking pointedly at Liara. "I think I'll head down to the wards, there's a good bar down there that I'm hoping wasn't blown up in the fighting." He turned to go but Liara grabbed his arm.

"Garrus," she said. "I've been thinking about what you said. Thank you. It was something that has been preying on my mind for quite some time, but it took another to say it to make me realise what the real problem was."

"No problem Liara. Glad to help. I'll see the two of you tomorrow…probably tomorrow afternoon if that bar is still open. Goodnight." He stepped back through the airlock as Naomi looked on in confusion.

"What was that all…" she started before Liara pulled her close and their lips met. They broke but Naomi stayed close, breathing in Liara's sweet scent.

"I…" she began again but Liara just put a finger to her lips and took her hand. So Naomi allowed herself to be led in silence to her own cabin. When there Liara stripped off her dress and pulled Naomi's uniform jacket off before pushing Naomi down onto the bed with a gentle but firm biotic shove.

"Wow…where did this come from all of a sudden?" asked Naomi, slightly breathless with shock and looking up at Liara clambering over her and unbuttoning her shirt with one hand as the other loosened Naomi's trousers.

"Garrus was right. In fact it's what I wanted to say to you when you had that nightmare; but I couldn't think of how to say it. You even said it yourself the first time I was in here and I don't know how I forgot it."

"…I said what? What are you talking about?"

Liara stopped for a moment and her face became serious. "You said 'out there I'm Commander Shepard'. And it's true. Out there you're in charge and you feel like you always have to be in charge because people rely on you so much. You never get any break from your responsibilities and having to take control all the time. Nobody can live like that indefinitely but you try to, for the good of everyone else. It eats you up inside, I know it does, the nightmare proved that, you take personal responsibility for everything and it strains you. You hide that strain but you can't keep going forever, it is too much for one person to withstand. You need some way to break from all of that at least for a little while, to let go of being in charge, let go of everything, if only for a few hours." She paused before continuing more quietly. "However you also said 'in here I'm Naomi'." She paused again and gave Naomi a sultry look. "And tonight Naomi Shepard is going to be mine to do with as I wish. Because tonight I'm taking charge of you and you're my 'responsibility'." And she went back to pulling open the buttons and slid her free hand past the waistband of Naomi's uniform trousers.

Naomi inhaled deeply, half an attempt to simply catch her breath and half a gasp of pleasure at Liara's touch, staring up at the beautiful blue goddess that she was at the mercy of. She was slightly shocked at how confident and decisive the young asari had suddenly become. Defeating Saren and Sovereign seemed to have lit a fire in Liara's soul, but she never realised that fire had been burning quite this brightly. "I think you're right, I'm definitely having a bad influence on you," she commented weakly as Liara started kissing down her neck and across her chest, the nails of one blue hand softly being raked across Naomi's pale skin leaving faint red tracks and the other hand gently exploring between her legs.

Liara stopped briefly to look up and smile at her. "How about you wait until later to make a decision on whether it's a bad influence or a good one?"

Naomi smiled back. "Somehow I doubt I have any choice in the matter…but I'm ok with that…" she replied and submitted herself to Liara's caresses.

* * *

Naomi lay awake in bed, arms wrapped around Liara who was softly sleeping sprawled across her, her head resting on Naomi's chest. Both of them were drenched in sweat but she didn't care, the afterglow of the evening made up for it. It was about three hours since they had left the party. After a while Liara woke up.

"Can't sleep?" she asked. Naomi didn't reply. "Oh…I forgot to ask…good influence or bad influence?"

Naomi chuckled briefly. "Definitely good." She lapsed into a brooding silence again and Liara pushed herself up and settled down alongside Naomi, head propped up by her arm, examining Naomi's serious expression.

"What's the matter?" asked Liara, idly drawing circles across Naomi's stomach with the fingers of her free hand.

"I can't stop thinking about what happens next…more of those things are still supposed to be coming. I just don't know if we can stop them. I have to go see the Council tomorrow with Anderson and Udina but what use is it if we're not going to be able to stop these things?"

"Naomi…" Liara leaned across and pulled her into a passionate kiss before staring deeply into Naomi's eyes. "If it was anyone else then I'd have doubts. But you're Commander Shepard. And that means you can do anything you want to when you decide to do it. And whatever happens I'll be there for you; for anything you need me for."

"Thanks Liara, that means more to me than you can imagine," replied Naomi softly, tears of happiness welling up in her eyes as Liara held her close.

"Set all of your cares aside for now, just stop thinking about it all," Liara whispered into her ear. "They will still be there in the morning. For now just enjoy tonight." She paused for a moment, before adding more quietly still, "I love you."

But Naomi didn't hear, she was already peacefully dreaming.


End file.
